Visit Fukuoka City!

Above, a view of Hakata Bay from the observation level of Fukuoka Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japanese monster fans who visit Japan and don't travel down to Kyushu are missing out of some great scenery along with some notable movie locations.

Fukuoka is a must-see city for any kaiju fan. It is a semi-industrial city at the southern end of the shinkansen.


Left, Fukuoka Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Fukuoka City was featured in Rodan (1956), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Gamera, Guardian of the Universe (1995) and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994).

The most notable landmarks are: Hakata Bay and Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome in Gamera, Guardian of the Universe; Fukuoka Tower in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla. Fukuoka Tower and Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome are within easy walking distance from each other.


The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan spotlights Fukuoka City's kaiju (and other) attractions on page 45.

Above, Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is about a six-hour ride to Fukuoka City on the shinkansen from Tokyo, with a change of trains at Shin-Osaka Station. The main stop at Hakata Station is also the end-of-the-line for the Hikari and Nozomi shinkansens. The Japan Rail Pass and the JR West Rail Pass are good for the Hikari trains but not the Nozomi trains.

There are many hotels clustered around Hakata Station, along with a McDonalds and a Starbucks at the station.

If you are planning a trip to Japan, try to set aside some days to visit Fukuoka City in Kyushu. It is well worth a visit!

Ten Years Gone In A Flash (Almost)

Right, Armand at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Clawmark Toys.

Besides being Halloween, today marks ten years since I first stepped aboard a jet and headed off for Japan with an arrival on November 1 (Japan is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles time and the International Dateline is crossed in the mid-Pacific). Until then, all my flying had been on domestic flights.

Before heading off for Japan again (most likely next spring), there is one thing I have to do: renew my passport. Passports are valid for ten years and mine expired back on September 16. It will be interesting to receive the new passport once I renew it and see what changes have been made to them by the government. In a way, I'm going to miss using the old passport with all its stamps, including ones from different tourist attractions in Japan that had rubber stamps for tourists to stamp their passports with.

It is interesting to see pictures of one's self of ten years ago. My hair was thicker and darker (i.e., less grey) and my mustache was darker. I was also about 50-60 pounds heavier than I am now (which is a good thing).

Above, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Some of the stamped places and attractions of Japan in my passport include: Harajuku Station, Mt. Fuji Visitor Center, JR Miyajima Island Ferry, Inaricho Station (Tokyo), Hiroshima Cenotaph (for A-bomb victims), Lucky Dragon No. 5, Mt. Aso Volcano National Park, Fukuoka Tower and others (some are in Japanese with no picture, and I don't remember what they were from).


Right, Armand with the Godzilla statue in Hibiya. Photo by Richard Pusateri.

It has been an interesting ten years. Some good things happened, and some not-so-good things happened. But that's life. All in all, it has been a pretty good ten years.

I am looking forward to getting the new passport and getting it filled up with new stamps.